Secondary-battery plate



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"(No Mode.)

E. B. KNOWLES.

SEGONDARY BATTERY PLATE.

NO. 397,557. Patented Feb. 12. 1889.

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SEGONDARY BATTERY PLATE.

(No Model.)

Patented Feb. 12

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UNiTEn @rates PATENT @rricnw EDXVARD R. KNOXVLES, OF BROOKLYN, NEXV YORK.

SECONDARY BATTERY PLATE.

SPECIFICA'IION forming part of Letters Patent No. 397,557, dated February 12, 1889.

Application filed October 29, 1888. Serial No. 289,4l3 (No modeld To aZZ whom 't ma y concern.-

Be in known that I, EDWARD R. KNOWLES, a citizen of the United States, residing in Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Secondary-Battery Plates, of which the following is a specification.

iNIyinvention relates to secondary batteries, with particular reference to the plates or electrodes of the same.

It is the obj ect of the invention to provide a plate which'will effciently support the active material, which will prevent short-circuiting of the battery, and have reliable means for connection, whereby any plate of a cell may be removed and replaced without hinderance to the other plates of the cell.

It is also the obj ect of the invention to pro- Vide means for supporting the plates in the cell.

To these ends the invention eonsists in the construction hereinafter particularly described, and pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figures l and 2 represent perspective Views of the two parts of the plate as they are separately cast or formed. Fig. 3 represents a Perspective view of a portion of three plates connected together. Figs. 4 and 5 represent sectional views of a complete plate; and Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 are Views of details.

Referring to the drawings by letter, A and B represent the two halves or castings of the plate. The part A has i'ormed upon it extensions or feet a for supporting the plate in the jar. These extensions are made of the thickness of the completed plate. This casting also is formed with a number of holes, a', for a purpose hereinafter set forth. The casting B has formed upon it the upward extension, by which connection is made to the other alternates platcs of the cell. This projection b is also of the thickness of the completed plate. Other proj ections, b', are forned upon the side edges of the plate for a purpose which will appear later on. There are also formed upon this casting lu gs or pins b which are located to register with the holes a' in 'the casting A. These two castings, when finished, are placed together, the pins 13 passing into the holes a',

and the lower edge of the casting B resting upon the shoulder formed on the legs a', and

the upper edge of casting A fits in beneath the shoulder forned on the extension b, thus making the sides of the finished plate flush. It is also remarked that the side projections, b', are formed of the thickness of the completed plate, so that the shoulders thereon will embrace and partially support the opposite member of the plate. The heads of the pins 17 are now riveted down or capped in any manner desired to secure the parts of the plate together and make it one solid structure.

It has been the obj ect of inventors working in this class of invention to provide cfcient means for retaining the active material in the plate and prevent its breaking off and falling 7o to the bottom of the cell. I aecomplish this by making the openings in the plate which receive the active material of a greater ditogether, leave chambers in the plate having an internal dianeter greater than the diameter of the opening at the surface of the plate. It will thus be seen that when the active material in the form of paste has been placed into these holes and has become lardened it cannot by any means fall out.

By formin g the plate in two parts I am enabled to construct it to receive any required amount of active material. This is evidenced by the construction shown in Fig. 5, wherein the inner surfaces of the two castings are ribbed, as shown at b ?1 thus making the plate thicker and increasing the size of the interior chambers. The general form of the chamber so far as diameter is concerned,

however, is retained. This plate is secured together in about the same manner that the plate shown in Fig. st is; but- I do not confine myself to any particular form of rivet or bolt for securing the same, irasmuch as the con- IOO struction is subject to many modifications. Figs. 10 and 11 are two of such modifications, that in Fig. 10 being a detached boltor pin having conical ends, which are adapted to pass into conieal openings in 'each of the castings and be headed on the outside. In Fig. 11 a pin having a conical end is formed upon one casting and is adapted to enter a conioal open- 5 ing in the other casting and be headed on the outside.

The stem or neck of the plate may be cast of sone metal which will not flow easily under pressure. This is acconplishcd by placing a hard-metal lug previously formed into l the plate-mold and casting it in with the plate, and it has formed upon its upper end a slotted cylindrical nut, c. One end of this nut has a triangular ridge formed upon it,

and the opposite end has a corresponding triangular groove, as shown. \Vhen several plates are placed together, these grooves or ridges internesh and form a good contact between each other. A series of the plates may be se'cured together by dropping a bolt, 0 into the slot c', form'ed by the'registerin g of all the slots in the adjacent nuts, and then screwing onto the ends of said bolt a circular nut,'c` which has a formation onits inner 2 5 side to fit the fornation of the side of the nut on the plate against which it abuts. The head of the bolt should also have a Similar formation on its inner side, so that when the bolt is seeured in place all the nuts or plates to which they are attached are tightly secured together and cannot be moved except by theremoval of the bolt. This last operation may be very easily and simply 'accomplished, it being only necessary to unscrcw the'nut and lift the' bolt out of the slot. Any plate of the group may then be renoved and replaoed without hinderance to the remainin g plates. The Connecting wire or strip cr for connecting the plates of one cell with those 40 of the next adjacent cell is provided with a nut having the triangular groove and ridge just described, so that it' may take its place upon the bolt next to its head.

The'feet, which are cast on' the lower edge of' the plates, I-contcmplate covering with an insulating material of' any kind, preferably soft rubber or fiberite. This insulation will prevent short-circuiting between' the adjacent plates, if by any reason' waste material should fill the cell to such an' extent that the space between the adjaoent plates should be' bridged.

The side extensions, b' b', are :forn'ed with notches to receive a cross-bar, d, of fiexible non-condueting material. This cross-bar is cylindrical in'shape, and has formed upon it integrally a series of fianges'for a purpose to be set forth. The extensions b' on every alternate plate-'say the positive plates-have the 'notches cut on the same side, while the extensions' on the intervening plates-say the negativeplates-have the notches forned on the under side. By this arrangement the negative plates* may be supportcd by the posi- 6 5 tive plates when the cross-bar d is resting npon the positive plates and the extensions on the negative plates are resting upon the cross-bar. The fianges on the cross-barserve to keep the plates apart.

I have also provided a conb, G, of fiexible insulating material, preferably soft rubber, which is inserted above and below over the edges of the plates to keep them separated. I am aware that hard rubber and other infiexible non-conductin substances have been used in this particular capacity, and of practieally the same shape as I have shown; but I have found that a flexible material is more serviceable for the purpose, in that it allows of a certain amount of freedom in the movement and adjustment of the plates, An infiexible eomb would not allow the plates to adjust themselves to any unevenness in the cell or in the bottom thereof.

It is observed that the plates of the cell are set at such a distance apart that a block of active material, should it become detaehed in any nanner from the plate, cannot bridge the J In other words, the

gap between the plates. space between the plates is greater than the greatest thickness or diameter of the blocks. Having described my i11ventio1,-Iclain- 1. A plate for secondary batteries, consisting of two halves, one half provided with pin's or lugs and the other half with holes to receive the same for securi'n g the parts together. 2. A plate for secondary batteries, forned in two parts, one' part having feet formedthereon'and the-other part having the connecting-lug formed up'on it.

3. A'plate for secondary batteries, having feet enveloped in insulating material.

i. The eombination, with a series of secondary-battery plates, of a series 'of grooved nuts attached to the-eonnecting-lugs of the plates, said nuts having a groove in one .face and a projecting ridge on the other.

5. The combination, wit-h a series of secondary-battery plates, of a series of grooved nuts attachedto the oonneoting-lugs of the' plates, said nuts having-a groove in one face:

and a projecting ridge on the other, in combination with a bolt and nut for clamping all of said nuts together.

(3. A separating-comb for tlie plates of a secondary battery, composed of a soft fiexible non-conduoting material.

7. In a secondary battery, the combination of a series of positive plates provided with.

side extensions, a series of negative plates provided with side extensions, and a cross-bar of fiexible insulating material interposed between the extensions of each series of'plates.

8. In a secondary battery, the cross-bar d, for supporting adjacent plates, having a series of flanges thereon.

9. In a secondary battery, the cross-bar d, of fiexible non-oonducting material, for supportin g adjacent plates.

10; In a secondary battery, the cross-bar d, :for supporting adjacent plates, made of fiexible non-eonducting material having a series of flanges thereon.

11. In a secondary battcry, two sets of plates,

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one having upturned side hrackets and the other having reversed brackets, in eomhination With a detaehed cross-bar adapted to rest upon the upturned brackets and to support the reversed brackets and their plates.

12. A plate for secondary batteries, provided With feet or legs and a number of projections for Connecting up and supporting' said piate in the celi, said piate being forned or cast in two parts, one of said parts having' forned upon it the said Connecting-up and supportin proj ections and the other part hav- :ing' 'formed upon it the feet or ieg's, as set forth.

13. As a connccting device for the piates of a secondary battery, a nut secured to each plate having' a slot or groove therein, which is adapted to register with the slots in the nuts upon the plates to Whieh it is to be attached in such a manner as to form one continuous straig'ht slot.

14. A series of secondary-battery plates, each provided With a Connecting-mg', each of said lugs provided With a notch, groove, or siot adapted to register With all of the slots or grooves in the other plates.

15. A series of seeondary-battery piates, each provided with a Connecting-mg, each of said lugs provided With a notch, groove, or siot adapted toregister With all of the slots or groovcs in the other plates, in eonbination With a bolt adapted to pass into said slots When they are in alignnent, and a nut upon said bolt for binding the lngs together.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two suhscribing witnesses.

EDWARD R. KNOWLES.

itnessesz WM. A. ROSENBAUM, FRANK C. GRUEN. 

